Automatic ash tray



Nov. 3, 1942.

w. A. AYRES AUTOMATIC ASH TRAY Filed Jun e 29, 19 38 2 S heets-Sheet lNov. 3, 1942. w A, AYREs 2,300,764

AUTOMATIC ASH TRAY Filed Jun e 29, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MVQ VW PatentedNov. 3, 1942 Waldemar Alexander Ayres, New York, N. Y.

Application June 29, 1938, Serial No. 216,524 In Canada June 29, 1937 6Claims. (or. 131-238) This invention relates to automatic devices and todevices for supporting smoking articles such as cigars, cigarettes andthe like, particularly devices of the type commonly known as ash trays.

Ash trays are and have been for many years past a common article ofcommerce and in wide use. These have been made in many designs andwidely varying constructions, but in these prior constructions thecigarette or other smoking article has been supported upon a stationarysupport; and this fact has resulted always in certain inherentdisadvantages which have caused great annoyance and even propertydamage. In particular it frequently happens that a cigarette laid on thesupport is forgotten while thesmoker is engaged in some other activityand, before he returns to pick up the cigarette or to put it out, it mayhave burned back for an inch or more with a consequent shifting of itscenter of gravity toward the unburned end. If the cigarette has beenleft with an end projecting this shift in its center of gravity may, andfrequently does, result in the cigarette toppling off from the supportand a burning of the table or rug or other furniture. The propertydamage inadvertently caused in this way is estimated at several hundredsof thousands of dollars annually.

Frequently cigarettes are extinguished by the heat absorption of thesupport. Often such cigarettes are only partly burned up and theremainder is wasted in consequence.

Even if the cigarette continues to burn and does not burn so far as tofall off from the support, the fumes from the burning end passing backthrough the unburned portion of the cigarette tend to condense upon thepart of the cigarette which is in contact with the relatively coldsupport, and as a consequence when the cigarette is picked up, it isfound that the part which has been in contact with the support is soakedand stained with the condensate. The cigarette in this condition isunsightly and distasteful to many persons, so that frequently it isthrown away and the greater part of the cigarette thus wasted. Or, if itis not thrown away, the burning zone creeps ahead along the top side ofthe cigarette and. when smoked often burns across behind that portion inwhich condensation has occurred. The unburned portion, of course, hasnot dropped off from the cigarette when the smoker tapped away the ash,and as a consequence when the cigarette burns across behind the unburnedzone the latter part is left still burning without support andfrequently drops onto the smokers clothes causing a burn or at best thesoiling of clothes with ashes.

Because of these recognized unsatisfactory features of the ordinary ashtray many attempts have been made to designash trays so as to extinguishthe cigarette or other smoking article after it has burned for a limitedtime on the tray. This, however, has not been accepted as a solution,and is found generally unsatisfactory because the smoker wants to findhis cigarette lighted-and ready for smoking when he picks it up from thetray. It is'a' source of continual annoyance to find that the cigarettehas been automatically extinguished and ash trays which cause thisannoyance cannot be generally acceptable.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an ash traywhich while allowing the smoking article to burn freely, will alwayskeep the burning portion of the smoking article over the. receptacleintended for the ashesand will prevent the burning stub from falling offof the support in any direction except into said receptacle.

Another object of my invention is to prevent the unsightly'andundesirable condensation of vapors and consequent staining of thesmoking article.

Another object of my invention is to prevent the extinguishing of theburning in the smoking article until it has burned almost to the endthereof.

With these and other objects in view, my invention contemplates an ashtray having a movable support for feeding the smoking article toward theash receptacle part-of the tray, at a rate approximating its rateofburning.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown several preferred embodimentsofmy invention and certain modificationsthereof. I have chosen thesewith a view to explaining the invention and the principles thereof andthe best manner of embodying the same. These and the followingspecification and descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive norlimiting, but on the contrary it is my intention to enable othersskilled in the art to adapt and modify-the invention and to construct itin such various forms as may be best adapted for the requirements of anyparticu.. lar conditions.

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a plan view of a combined clock and movable support forsmokers articles;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view to an enlarged scale taken onlines 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan View of the device of Figure 1 taken along the levelof the lines 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view in vertical section of a mechanical spring operatedmovable support for smokers articles;

Figure 5 is a similar view in vertical section of another type ofmechanicallyoperated sup- P r a Figure 6 is a top plan view, with theoperating rod shown in section, of the device shown in Figure 5; and iFigure 7 is a vertical sectional view similar to Figures 4 and 5, butshowing another type of mechanically operated device.

The several devices shown in these drawings comprise a movable supportfor a smoking article and a motor device for driving the movable supportat a rate approximately equal to that at which the smoking article isconsumed while resting on the support so that its burning end is alwaysover an ash receptacle. Such motor means may, as shown in Figures 1, 2,and 3, be a continuously operating motor; or, as shown in Figures 4 to7, inclusive, be a motor which is energized each time a smoking articleis laid upon the support.

in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, I have shown several embodiments of myinvention in which the drive is bymeans of a spring or other motor meansin which energy is stored up by manual operation,and a dash pot or othermeans for speed control regulates the operation of the drive rolls sothatthe cigarette is moved forward at a rate approximating that at whichit would normally burn.

In 4; the rolls [9 may be substantially the same as those shown in Fig,l, and theseare driven by a drive string '22m which passes in aturnaround each of the axles 2| being connected at one end through thebell crank 85 to a piston rod 86 f the dash pot 81 and at its other endto the spring 23 by which it is held taut and in frictional engagementwith the axles. A valve 88 on the piston 39 permits the piston to bepushed quickly to the bottom of the cylinder compressing the spring 90.

In the use of this device the rod 86 is pushed downmanually at the sametime that the cigarette It is laid upon the roll l9, and as this is donethe bell crank 85 is, of course, moved down releasing the drive string22m and permitting the spring 23 to take up the slack in the string.As-soon, as the rod 86 is released it begins its return movement underthe pressure of the spring 98, butrestrained by the liquid in the dashpot 8?. As the piston 89 and the rod 86 progress slowly upward, the bellcrank 85 is, of course, moved with it and thereby the drive string 22121is pulled against the tension of the spring 23 with consequent rotationof the rolls I 9 and a slow forward motion of the cigarette l0 keepingits burning end always over the ash receptacle.

The amplitude of forward movement resulting from one stroke of the rod86 should be a little more than enough to feed the cigarette from itsposition when first placed on the roller to a position from which itfalls into the ash receptacle when almost entirely burned away.Advantageously either the amplitude is not very much more than this sothat it will have to be operated each time a new cigarette is laid down,or the driving motor should have suflicient capacity to operate the rollat the given slow speed for substantially an entire evening so that noattention will be required once the device has been wound up orconnected to some suitable source of energy,

'In Figs. and 6, a similar device is shown except that instead of thedash pot 81 a rotary device 81m, is used in which inwardly directed fins95 on the housing are arranged about the path of the blades 95 on arotor; and the housspring 91m acting upon the push rod 867]. which isprovidedwith ratchet teeth for engaging and driving the pinion gear 99.

The roll l9 which is driven by the pinion 99 through the gear i0!) isconnected to the other roll l9 by a belt I 60a which serves to supportthe smoking article and to positively drive the same in the direction ofthe arrow of Figure 6.

The operation of this device is substantially the same as that of thedevice shown in Fig. 4. The push rod 861?. is depressed when thecigarette is placed on the rolls l9. As this is done the ratchet on thepush rod slides over the pinion 99 and the spring Mn is compressed. Whenthe push rod is released, its ratchet is held in engagement with thepinion 99 by means of the spring NH and it is pushed up, rotating thepinion 99, the gear I60 and the roll [9 at a rate determined by theretarder 8711.

It should be understood, of course, that the motor and speed controldevices shown in Figs. 3 and 4 are only exemplary and instead of thesemany other types of motors and speed controls may be used. Thus, forexample, a very simple and desirable arrangement is to drive the rollsl9 from a small synchronous motor such as is commonly used in electricclocks, using any conventional reduction drive, for example that shownin Figure 6 of Patent 2,071,274 to F. A. Ross, to operate the rolls !9at a rate substantially approximating the normal rate of burning of thecigarette. Such a device has the great advantage that it is continuouslyoperating and requires no attention.

In Figures 1, 2, and 3, I have shown such a device in which an electricclock is combined with the automatic ash tray. The clock mechanism,indicated generally at I08, not only operates the numeral dials I (orany other indicators, such "as hands on an ordinary dial) in the. usualway to show time, but is also connected through a gear train, indicatedgenerally by housing 209, a set of gears H3 and an endless cord andpulley drive IE4 to rollers Hi. In this way, any cigarette laid uponrolls I9 is driven slowly forward toward the annular ash receptacle Hip.Electric cigar lighters, indicated generally at H91, may be located asshown in Fig ure 1.

It is contemplated that the clock designated at I08 be of thesynchronous motor electric type and that the rolls I!) be driventherefrom through a reduction gear train in housing I09 and throughgears H3. The synchronous motor clock per se and the reduction gearingin housing I09 as well as gears H3 forms no part of the presentinvention and may be of any conventional type such, for example, asshown in the patent to Ross, No. 2,071,274 at Figure 6 and described inthe specification of said patent on page 2, the first column, beginningat line 48.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, shaft I04 extends fromgear box Hi9 andcarries thereon a pinion H5 which engages and drives miter gears H5 eachof which is mounted on a shaftcarrying a pulley ill. Each of the rollsI9 is mounted on a shaft H8 which carries a pulleyl20. Each pair ofpulleys I20 is connected by an endless belt IZI to the aligned pulleyI". As shown in Figure 2, guide pulleys I22 may underlie each pulleyI20. The gear ratios and pulley ratios of the entire system are chosenso that the rolls I9 drive at a surface speed approximately equivalentto the normal rate of burning of a cigarette resting thereon.

Any number of these roller supports I9 may,

of course, be provided; and innumerable designs and types of clocks andtrays. Except for the electric lighter the automatic ash tray may becombined as well with a spring clock or any other type of clockmechanism as with the synchronous electric clock.

In Fig. 7, I have shown another type of manual device which is designedto avoid the possibility of a cigarette remaining on the rolls afterthey have ceased to operate. As shown in this figure, the rear roller ismade with a projection III] of sufiicient height so that when it comesto its uppermost position the cigarette will be tilted beyond its angleof repose and will slide into the ash receptacle.

In the construction shown, the rear roll I91 is driven by a coil spring90 acting on the roll through the sector gear I II and pinion I601. Oneend of the axle ZIr of the roll I91" is geared to the rotor of aretarder 8'In substantially the same as that described in Fig. 4 throughthe gear 991* and pinion 981. Connected to and preferably integral withthe sector gear I I I mounted on the axle 2| of the other roll I9 is thethumb piece 861* extended therefrom.

In the operation of this device the thumb piece 861' is depressed at thetime a cigarette is laid upon the roll. This rotates the drive roll I91-backward until its projection I II] is substantially against the bottomof the other roll I9, and at the same time stretches its drive spring902. This operation occurs free of the retarder Sin by virtue of aratchet connection II2. As the thumb piece 861 is released the retarder8'In is engaged through the pinion 981- and ratchet H2 and retards thereturn movement of the roller I97.

In the normal course of operation the roll I91 will move the cigaretteforward almost its entire length, the projection III! engaging under theextreme rear end of the cigarette and lifting it so that the cigarettedrops into the tray at the end of the operation of the device. Theforward face of the projection IIU, however, is shaped so that if therear end of the cigarette should be ahead of the projection III) thelatter as it approaches its final movement will push the end of thecigarette along over the forward roll I9 until the butt drops into thereceptacle.

I have shown and described above the several widely varied designs inorder to illustrate the principle of my invention and to bring out thefact that it can be'embodied in very many difierent forms. Obviously,those which have been shown and described are only a few of theinnumerable forms which might be given to illustrate the invention.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the accompanyingdrawings are made with a view to most clearly illustrating the parts inorder that their operation and mechanical relationships may beunderstood without attempting to preserve accuracy of the proportions.

What I claim is:

1. A device for holding smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars andthe like which comprises an ash receptacle, means for supporting asmoking article with its burning portion over said ash receptacle, andmeans for propelling the article on the support toward the ashreceptacle at a rate approximating the normal rate of burning thereof,in which the propelling means comprises a manually energized motor andmeans for retarding it to a speed approximately equivalent to the rateof burning of the smoking article.

2'. A device for holding smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars andthe like with the burning end thereof over an ash receptacle, whichcomprises means for supporting such smoking article with its burningportion over said ash receptacle, means for propelling the article onthe support toward the ash receptacle, an electric motor, driving meansconnecting said motor to said propelling means, and means for regulatingthe motor speed to approximately the same ratio to the linear rate ofburning of the smoking articie, as the driving ratio between said motorand propelling means.

3. A device for holding smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars andthe like with the burning end thereof over an ash receptacle, whichcomprises means for supporting such smoking article with its burningportion over said ash receptacle, means for propelling the article onthe support toward the ash receptacle, a synchronous electric motor andspeed reducing driving means, the

speed of the synchronous motor and the drive ratio of the driving meansbeing such that the propelling means is driven at a speed approximatelyequivalent to the rate of burning of the smoking article.

4. A combined clock and smokers device which comprises a clock, an ashreceptacle attached to the clock, conveyor means adjacent the receptacleadapted to hold a smoking article with its burning portion over thereceptacle and means for driving said conveyor from the clock at a speedapproximately equivalent to the normal rate of burning of a smokingarticle. 7

5. A device for holding smoking articlessuch as cigarettes, cigars andthe like which comprises an ash receptacle, means for supporting asmoking article with its burning portion over said ash receptacle, andmeans for propelling the article on the support toward the ashreceptacle at a rate approximating the normal rate of burning thereof,in which the propelling means comprises a manually energized motor,means for retarding it to a speed approximately equivalent to the rateof burning of the smoking article, and the combination further comprisesmeans for ejecting the smoking article from the supporting means beforethe propelling means runs down.

6. A device for holding smoking articles such as cigarettes, cigars andthe like with the burning end thereof over an ash receptacle, whichcomprises means for supporting such smoking article with its burningportion extended therebeyond, and means forpropelling the article on thesupport toward the ash receptacle, an ap-' proximately constant speedmotor and driving means connected between said motor and said propellingmeans with a drive ratio adapted to propel the article at a rateapproximating the normal rate of burning thereof.

WALDEMAR ALEXANDER AYRES.

